


and if you're warm, then you can't relate to me

by remrose



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 08:26:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2461484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remrose/pseuds/remrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They get stuck outside from a 3AM fire alarm.</p>
<p>“I call it the ten-pound-quilt.” Will winked like it was a secret, coming to a stop in front of Nico. “I lent it to one of my siblings once and he said it was like being suffocated by a wet cement pancake. I love it."</p>
            </blockquote>





	and if you're warm, then you can't relate to me

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what I'm doing.

Nico honestly didn’t even know that the camp had fire alarms.

Yet, the unmistakable ringing of obnoxious cherry red bells woke him in a shock at 3 o’clock in the morning. He was already tense before he was completely awake, swinging his legs off the side of his bed and going outside. Trickled lines of demigods streamed from the cabins and onto the grass, away from the distinctly flaming Hermes cabin.

A frown set his face, and he crossed over to meet up with the bumbling crowd of half-asleep campers.

“Not an attack.” Piper promised, sliding up to his elbow looking wide awake, which Nico envied. “Just the Stolls.”

“Okay.” Nico replied, the tension slipping off his shoulders slowly.

Chiron, a shadow in the vague light of the middle of the night, shouted basically the same thing, and told everyone to wait outside until the fire was put out.

Nico was at the edge of the crowd. Piper gave him a light smile before heading away. It was then that he realized he was wearing grey cotton pajama pants and a loose black t-shirt, and absolutely no shoes. It wasn’t warm outside, on the wrong side of the summer in the middle of the night. Nico rubbed his elbows with opposing hands and considered ignoring Chiron to just go back to bed anyway.

Other demigods were in the same position. They broke into groups, stepped on the spare blankets in bare feet, girls folded into their boyfriend’s arms, and some Athena girls looked like they were assembling a fire.

It was fairly dark, but Nico had above average night-vision, which he didn’t need to spot the approach of a sunny mop of blonde hair. Will Solace picked his way through the murmuring crowd, a heavy quilt slung like an oversized towel across his shoulders.

“There you are.” Will said.

“Here I am.” Nico replied automatically with his muddled, 3AM brain. “That quilt is huge.”

“I call it the ten-pound-quilt.” Will winked like it was a secret, coming to a stop in front of Nico. “I lent it to one of my siblings once and he said it was like being suffocated by a wet cement pancake. I love it.”

Nico didn’t know what the reply to that would be, but it didn’t matter because Will unwrapped the quilt from one arm and offered it to him.

“What.” Nico said. “No.”

“You’re barefoot.” Will pointed out, the teeth of his grin luminous in the night.

“No.” Nico repeated eloquently.

Will decided to just ignore him and flap the wet cement pancake over his shoulders. Nico automatically reached up to hold the impossibly heavy mass in place, still vaguely warm from resting on Will.

“I think I understand Atlas better.” Nico grumbled, the heavy quilt of twenty different colourful patchworks forcing heat viciously onto him. In the chill of night, Nico could admit it was almost welcome.

Will laughed, stepping closer and making Nico’s heart skip a beat.

The fire lit up the sky for a moment, followed by a sizzle as they finally managed to start putting it out. Will crossed his arms and shivered.

“You’re an idiot.” Nico told him. “The sun kid should get the blanket in the cold, not the son of Hades.”

Will made a face at him. “Doctor’s orders. Can’t have you freeze.”

Nico rolled his eyes, latching onto one corner of the ten-pound quilt and heaving the other over Will, needing to rock onto his tip-toes to reach his height. Any other person’s night vision would not have caught how Will’s face goes tomato red.

“The doctor is an idiot.” Nico amended, the two of them standing close and sharing the weight of the blanket.

“Uh,” Will said, red. “Thanks.”

Nico made a harrumph sound, crossing his arms.

The crowd of demigods behind them was getting louder as people woke up more. Nico shrugged his corner of the quilt up higher, finding that his feet actually were getting cold. He shifted, accidently brushing his toes against the sides of Will’s feet.

The taller demigod yelped instantly. “Your toes are ice!”

“Not all of us are—“ Nico was cut off by Will tugging him down by the arm, tucking the large end of the quilt that was already trailing on the ground underneath them, until they were no longer on the cold grass.

They stayed sitting like that, watching the crowds of demigods finally stoop to the ground and huddle together when the fire took longer than expected to extinguish. Soon everyone was sitting in the field in one position or another, Will and Nico unwatched at the edges. The quilt was warm and heavy and Will started to droop, obviously drowsy.

“Quit leaning on me.” Nico finally snapped.

“What was that,” they were sitting side by side, so Nico couldn’t see Will’s face but he could tell by his voice that he was grinning. “I can’t hear you.” He teasingly leaned most of his weight.

“Now I’ve got another ten-pound-quilt.” Nico groaned, shoving at him. Will shook with laughter, pushing back.

“Oh no I’ve fallen asleep.” Will managed to knock Nico over, dramatically sprawling. The shorter kicked at him.

“Stoooop.” Nico groaned, then managing to get his ice feet on Will’s calf, which earned him another yelp.

“That ice cannot be healthy!” Will said, high pitched.

Nico just glared through the shadows of night. Will glared exaggeratedly back.

Chiron’s voice cut over the crowds background chatter to announce they could return to their cabins. Will blinked twice, seemed to realize that he was basically lying on top of Nico, and turned red while rolling off him. Nico sat up and brushed the grass off his shirt, letting Will help him to his feet.

“Thanks for the blanket.” Nico said.

“Uh, no problem.” Will replied, rubbing at his neck. “We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

“Just not at three in the morning.” Nico agreed without really thinking about it, and turned on his heel to return to his cabin before he could say anything else, thinking only that he wasn’t very cold anymore.

Behind him, Will grinned helplessly.


End file.
